The sudden demise of veteran art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai left the nation in shock. The entire entertainment industry is mourning the demise of a four-time national award-winning art director. He was found dead on Wednesday in his studio in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, police said on Wednesday. According to police Desai’s body was found hanging in his ND Studio in Karjat, some 80 km outside Mumbai. Earlier today, his mortal remains were brought to the ND Art World Studio Pvt Ltd studio. A host of celebrities visited ND studio to pay their last respects to him and extend condolences to the bereaved family. Among those who paid a visit to the art director's kin were actor Aamir Khan, filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker and Madhur Bhandarkar paid their last tribute to Desai. Apart from them, Manoj Joshi, Mukesh Rishi, Sonali Kulkarni, and others were also spotted. Nitin Chandrakant Desai Funeral Update: Late Art Director’s Remains Cremated at ND Studio, Mumbai.

Maharashtra chief minister, Eknath Shinde and Deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar also paid their last respects to Desai. CM Shinde and deputy CM Pawar visited Sir JJ Hospital’s mortuary in Maharashtra's Mumbai, where Desai's body was kept. After learning about the unfortunate news, Shinde expressed his condolences via a tweet as well. “Veteran art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai passed away today. This is an unfortunate and shocking piece of news. The demise of Desai, who created a world of his own through his unique set designs in Marathi and Hindi films, is saddening. He had a special association with Tembhi Naka Devi (a popular temple in Maharashtra). He preserved and carried forward a tradition which started with Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb. Navratri celebrations here came to unforgettable because of him (Desai). There was a lot of curiosity among the people to see his artworks. It pains me that such a nice and humble man, who also happened to be a good friend, is no more with us. Today is a very sad day for me and our film industry," Shinde wrote in Marathi. Nitin Chandrakant Desai Dies: Riteish Deshmukh, Neil Nitin Mukesh, and Sanjay Gupta Offer Heartfelt Condolences.

Aamir Khan At Nitin Desai's Last Rites:

 

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The preliminary findings in the postmortem revealed that the cause of death is hanging"Postmortem of art director Nitin Desai has been conducted by a team of four doctors. As per preliminary findings, the cause of death is due to hanging. Further investigation is underway," police said. On Thursday Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that all possible angles will be investigated in the Art Director Nitin Desai’s death case. While replying to a question in the Maharashtra state assembly, Devendra Fadnavis said," We will investigate all angles angle whether was he was pressurised. We will see if any things can be done for him as far as the studio is concerned. At present can’t make any announcement on it. We will also investigate the people whom he used to meet too." Desai, 57, worked as an art director in several big-budget films such as Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Jodhaa Akbar, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, and Panipat, among others. He was noted for his innovative studio design and had collaborated with filmmakers like as Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He had won three Filmfare Awards for Best Art Direction and four National Film Awards for Best Art Direction.